Ag 6 november, 2014

Thursday, Nov 6, 2014

Since Sept 27, 1879

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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY

City kids’ big GIVEAWAY day out P8 STRANGLES WARNING P14 www.guardianonline.co.nz

College names Dux Zac Plumb was revealed as the 2014 Ashburton College dux last night, so where to from here for the school’s top academic? INTERVIEW, PRIZE LIST

P5, 6

Bikers lose Mt Hutt trails

BY SUSAN SANDYS

SUSAN.S@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ

Heavy machinery has moved in to log trees at Mt Hutt, crushing the dreams of mountain bikers. Downhill enthusiasts have constructed the Mt Hutt bike park, a network of trails, over the past 10 years in forestry at the base of the mountain. An eleventh hour bid to landowners to buy some of the land failed, plunging the future of many of the tracks into uncertainty. But the landowners say they

are committed to keeping the bike park open in the long term, and are continuing to discuss with bikers the option of placing a covenant on areas. Bike Methven president Daniel Burgess said trees added to the structure and aesthetics of tracks, and prevented erosion. About 70 per cent of the network’s trails were in forestry, and these would be “completely destroyed” by the logging. Members were committed to restoring the tracks and work-

ing with landowners to ensure the proposed covenant was installed. “We are pretty determined to do everything we can to keep our bike park,” Mr Burgess said. Members had made a substantial undisclosed offer to purchase 98 hectares of the 237 hectare block, comprising the most important trails, but were gutted when this was refused by the landowners. Mr Burgess warned fellow mountain bikers to be careful as

they cycled in the area, and to avoid taped off areas and heavy machinery over the summer months. He was uncertain as to whether events such as the nationals and Oceania champs, which had been held at the park, could now be staged in the area. However, landowner spokesperson Ben Todhunter said he “totally disagreed” that the tracks had an uncertain future. The intention of the owners, which comprised a small group

of Methven area farmers, when they bought the land was to secure long-term access for bikers. “We have never deviated from that,” Mr Todhunter said. Secondly, they needed to recuperate some money from their investment in the land by undertaking the logging. “Which I think is fair enough,” Mr Todhunter said.